Three Killed in Malaysia as Maersk Manages Fires on Two Ships

A fire aboard a containership alongside in Malaysia’s Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) was fatal, killing three and injuring three more, reports Malaysia’s State Fire and Rescue Department. This fire, along with an ongoing incident on another Maersk ship in the United States, again highlights the dangers of cargo fires after a series of incidents this year.

The container vessel Kyparissia (70,461 dwt), owned and managed by Costamare and under time charter to Maersk, was alongside in PTP on Friday. November 7, when a fire was reported at midday. At first, the port’s fireboats were fighting the blaze and were later assisted by teams from the State Fire and Rescue Department.

A spokesperson for Maersk confirmed the tragic incident, reporting that an explosion occurred aboard the vessel as cargo was being discharged. The subsequent fire was reported to have taken place under deck in the fifth hold of the ship, which has a capacity of 4,957 TEU. The ship is operating on a route that includes Onne, Nigeria, Cotonou, Benin, and Singapore. The vessel is registered in Malta.

Maersk confirmed that three people, including one crewmember, had lost their lives. Malaysian officials identified the three as a 59-year-old Malaysian, a man from the Philippines, and another from Britain. Three others, a Malaysian and two Filipinos, were injured and are hospitalized.

“At this stage, we are unable to determine the full extent of the fire’s impact on the vessel and cargo aboard. We are working closely with PTP, authorities, the vessel owner, and ship manager to manage the situation and will provide updates as more information becomes available,” said Maersk.

Another Maersk-owned vessel, Laust Maersk (63,000 dwt), is being held off Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States after smoke was seen in one of the cargo holds. The vessel, which is registered in Singapore, had departed Charleston for Cartagena, Colombia, when the smoke was reported. The ship, which has a capacity of 4,258 TEU, operates on a route including Port Everglades, Newark, Baltimore, and Charleston in the United States and traveling to Cartagena and Manzanillo, Mexico.

Maersk reports the vessel is in a stable condition and no crew were injured. The ship, which had departed on November 5, returned to the anchorage off Charleston on November 6. A Maersk spokesperson reports the ship is undergoing necessary inspections and safety protocols to assess the situation on board.

Once the inspection is completed and approvals are given, Maersk expects the Laust Maersk to berth. The affected containers will be discharged.

Box fires and the dangers from poorly packed cargoes or incorrectly identified cargo remain a major concern for the industry. In mid-August, Maersk reported a container fire aboard another one of its vessels, Marie Maersk, off the coast of West Africa. The firefighting efforts took more than a week, but with specialized crew and equipment sent to the ship, they were able to control the situation, and the ship was able to proceed to Malaysia.

Wan Hai also recently reported that it is still working on salvage after a fire destroyed one of its vessels off India. That tragic incident caused the death of four crewmembers.

The industry is working on new tools, including the use of AI, to help identify dangerous cargoes. Insurer Allianz Commercial, in a 2025 report, called container fires one of the major dangers and said misdeclared cargo is still the leading cause of fires.